For the first time ever, the most important maps of Armenia starting
from ancient times have been compiled in one book. The maps depict
Armenia’s geographical location starting from the 6th century B.C. when
the Babylonians were making clay tiles; there are maps of ancient
Greece and Rome, maps from early Christian, Islam, Ottoman, early and
late middle ages, as well as samples of foreign cartography done by
Martin Valdezmyuller, Sebastian Myunster, Jerardus Merkator, Abraham
Ortelius, William Yanson Blau, John Senecks, Nikola Sanson and Giyom de
Lili. “This is a very important book for those who are interested in
knowing about the history and geographical locations of Armenia, and in
general the Caucasus region, including the Ottoman and Iranian
empires,” informs the “PrintInfo” publishing house who has taken on the
responsibility of publishing the book.
The book is composed of 128 maps and 40 additional details. Attached to
the maps, the reader can find detailed descriptions of the authors, the
dates of cartography, information about the publisher and sources, the
particularities of the given map, as well as brief stories about the
history of cartography and a small dictionary containing the names and
definitions of geographical locations. There are also valuable samples
of Armenian and other interesting maps, including a satellite photo of
Armenia.
Ruben Galchyan, the author of the book, was born in Iran in a family of
immigrants from Van. He has received his primary education in Tehran;
then he has studied in England where he has worked as an electric
engineer until 1980. He has also been director of projects aimed
towards oil and chemical substance production. Cartography has only
been a hobby for Ruben. “I have started collecting materials for
cartography and especially information regarding Armenia starting from
1970,” says R. Galchyan. The idea of compiling and publishing a book
like this was born five years ago. “While compiling this book, I took
some things into consideration which are of great importance nowadays
on a political level. They are connected to the future negotiations for
Armenia and Artsakh and in general, the place we call our Homeland,
Armenia. During the past couple of years, Turk and Azeri “historians”
and “scientists” have started to express themselves freely and claim
that Armenians are not natives of the Caucasus region, but rather, they
are inhabitants. Turkish professors read lectures about the “ancient”
history and culture of Turkey without even mentioning Armenians and
Armenia. Azeri “historians” try to prove that Armenians have immigrated
to the Caucasus only after the 19th century through the means of the
Russian forces. This means that Armenians have not even existed in the
region. If we look at it from that perspective, then how do we explain
the fact that there are famous geologists and people involved in
cartography who describe Armenia as part of the region,” says R.
Galchyan.
The author has a very small collection of the original maps. The rest
of the originals are found in different museums and libraries around
the world. “I have received information from the libraries in Britain,
France, the national libraries of Austria, the municipal libraries of
Myunkhen, the U.S. Congress library, and the different municipal
libraries and museums of Oxford, Manchester and Italy, as well as the
Matenadaran and the Yerevan State University library,” says the author.
This book, written in different languages by foreigners, explains where
Armenia is on the geographical map and in general, when its history
begins. The book also answers other questions, for example, what is the
country of Azerbaijan like, where it is located, and it also presents
the geography of Ancient Armenia by recalling the books depicting Islam
maps, Ottoman and Arabic geography.
“Ruben Galchyan’s atlas will not only be considered as part of the
cartographical literature, but also, part of the history of cartography
as a whole with its rich information,” says owner of the Matenadaran
and academician Sen Arevshatyan. Speaking of the Matenadaran, we must
state that the ancient Armenian manuscripts testify that cartography in
general goes way back in Armenian history.
“We can say that cartography for Armenians began in the 17th century
when in 1695, the Vanandetsi brothers printed the first map in
Amsterdam which was called the “World Compass”,” says owner of the
Matenadaran and academician Sen Arevshatyan.
Although cartography has highly developed in the 18th-20th centuries in
Armenia, however, the original maps have been printed outside of
Armenia. During the Soviet era, the city of Minsk in Belarus was the
only place where colorful maps were printed in the professional
printing house. During the past couple of years, Armenians involved in
the art of printing perfected themselves so much that now they too are
printing books displaying colorful maps. “This book is also a great
achievement from the polygraph perspective,” adds Sen Arevshatyan.
In addition, the book also has the English, Russian-Armenian versions.
They are already being sold in bookstores: 35,000 drams for the English
publication and 21,000 drams for the Russian-Armenian version.